Open Quiet Moments

[Lars van Houten]

Lars' first weeks at Hogwarts had been quite nice. He had grown closer to his friend Elliot, and had spend more time with the boy. He had managed to stay away from his bullies, and had been painting a lot. Somehow, he had also managed to get onto the Quidditch team, and had just finished playing his first match. He hadn't imagined he would be up in the air anytime soon, so to be asked for the first match of the year had been quite a shock. Lars wasn't entirely sure how he had done, but he had blocked more goals than he had let through so he assumed he had done okay. Their team had won, which had been nice as well.

But one thing was bothering Lars a little. He hadn't been able to paint outside much, not since the time Blake and Tyler had made fun of him and Elliot. It wasn't bad to do painting inside, but now that the weather was getting warmer, Lars yearned for the nice spring air. So he had made his way up to one of the tall towers and was now settled at the top with his art supplies. The view here was wonderful, and Lars sat down and started to sketch immediately. He felt better at once, enjoying doing what he did best. When he drew or painted, it seemed like his worries washed away.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily was glad to be back at school. Things were a bit confusing for her right now. She had a crush on someone for the first time, which was strange. Her brother wasn't as close to her as she'd hoped. She hadnt known what sorting to expect for her lazy little brother, but she hadn't expected Gryffindor of all places.

Deciding a walk would clear her head, Lily thought she'd go somewhere new. She hadn't been up to the towers much. She decided it might be nice to get some fresh air and watch the clouds. She paused as she opened the door. There was someone already up here. She almost turned to leave, but she realized as she began to shut the door again that he was Elliot's other friend.

Taking a breath to quell the flutter in her tummy, Lily walked through the door and approached him. "H-hello," she greeted shyly with a soft smile. "I-I'm, ah, I'm Lily." She introduced herself. Hopefully she wasn't intruding.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars hadn't noticed the other person until she spoke, and he jumped a little before turning his head to look at her. He recognized Lily Lockwood from his classes, and also knew she was one of Elliot's closest friends. He had always thought she looked friendly and kind, but had never actually spoken to her. He was a little curious about her, but hadn't expected her to greet him so suddenly. He hesitated, glancing down at his half finished sketch before looking at the girl again. It wouldn't be bad to socialize for a bit. "Hello." He said, then nodded. "I know... I mean, I knew your name." He said then, wondering if that was strange to say. "From classes." He added. "I'm Lars."

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily giggled and held her hand together in front of her. "Is it okay if I sit down?" She asked shyly. "I- I've been meaning to talk to you." She admitted softly. "El thinks you're really great, so I thought- I mean, not that I don't think you're nice, I just-" She laughed nervously. "I'm sorry." She apologized, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "I- I'm not very good with people." She told him, biting her lip. This was a disaster. She wanted to kick herself. Hopefully he wasn't too upset with her.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars nodded at Lily's question, wondering why she was asking him. "Anyone can sit here." He said simply, as that seemed to be the case as far as he knew. It made him feel warm inside to hear the girl say Elliot thought he was great, and he gave her a small smile. "Elliot is great too." He said softly. "He's nice. A good friend." Lars had been thinking about the other boy a lot lately, and had even made a few sketches in his sketchbook that had ended up looking like him a bit. He had hidden those in the bottom of his trunk. "You don't have to be sorry." He told the girl. "I'm not very good with people either. Sometimes I think no one is, and the ones that are are just pretending." He said with a small shrug.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily smiled as he said she could sit with him. Well... more or less, anyway. She folded herself down next to him. She giggled as he said Elliot was great, too. "He is." She blushed a little as Lars told her she didn't have to be sorry. "Thank you. That's... a very good point," She murmured, giving him a shy smile. She opened her mouth to say something else but jumped a little as she felt something moving in her pocket. "What...?" She murmured softly, reaching into her pocket to find the source. She pulled out a very sleepy, pretty blonde rat. "Penne!" She scolded gently. She looked to Lars. "I'm sorry, she's always hiding in my things. Have... have you met Elliot's rat Penne yet?" She asked.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars looked at the girl as she sat with him, wondering why she seemed nervous. He could understand it, but he didn't think other people were as worried as he tended to be. "No problem." He said softly as she thanked him, giving her a smile in return. He jumped when she jumped, unsure what was going on. But then the girl pulled a rat out of her pocket, and Lars watched it curiously. "Oh." He said, blinking. "I haven't." He added, wondering why this girl had Elliot's pet. Didn't they sleep in different dorms? It had to be a pretty smart rat. "I didn't know he had one..." He added softly, suddenly wondering if that meant Elliot and him weren't as close friends as he had been assuming.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily smiled softly, gently rubbing behind Penne's ears. "That's probably because Penne forgets that she's supposed to be Elliot's. I'm always finding her in my bag or my pockets. I don't know how she gets there. Elliot was really worried the first time Penne did it." She smiled warmly at the memory. It seemed like all of her best memories were with Elliot lately. She held Penne out towards Lars. "Would you like to hold her?"

 

[Lars van Houten]

"Oh." Lars said, looking at the rat quietly. "She must like you a lot." He said softly. He had never been too big on animals, despite growing up on a farm. It had always been more Fleur's thing, though occasionally Fleur's cat Jack would sleep on his lap as he drew, which was always kind of nice. He blinked in surprise as the girl held the rat out to him, then hesitantly took it from her. "I like the color..." He murmured, looking closely at the pretty fur.